Soldiers and captains: the companies of militias of Écija (1612-1648)

Abstract

The investigation carried out in the Municipal Archive of Écija tries to come closer to the phenomenon of military recruiting in the first half of the 17th century. The proposed objective has been to approach the military recruitment system from a more local point of view, opposite to other studies and approaches that offer a more global view of the process. The handled sources have been, first of all, instructions, letters and royal certificates that were sent to Écija for several years with orders to raise men to fulfil the services that the king was demanding and, secondly, the study of recruitment lists with names and surnames of the soldiers, their professions, ages and signs of identity. We do not forget the authorities and officials who carried out the recruiting, as well as the procedures that were started up to obtain the required number of men.